***** Series sold out early on Thursday morning, 5 March 2009 *****

Six Galway Athletics Clubs have announced their plans to organise a series of low-key, no-frills roads races around the county this spring. The clubs have organised a similar series of races for the last three years and the initiative has proven very popular.

The races will take place on Tuesday evenings at locations around the county and will culminate in the final race evening in Galway City on Tuesday the 2nd June which will be followed by the now traditional social evening and distribution of series t-shirts and spot prizes.

These evenings are specifically designed with the beginner in mind and are perfect for the many members of the Fit4Life groups that have become established all around the county.

The dates and locations for this year's races will be as follows;

28th April 2009 - Athenry @ 7:45pm

05th May 2009 - Tuam @ 08:00pm

12th May 2009 - Craughwell @ 08:00pm

19th May 2009 - Claregalway @ 08:00pm

26th May 2009 - Loughrea @ 08:00pm

02nd June 2009 - Galway @ 08:00pm

For full details of the individual races keep an eye on the various club web-sites (links below).

The cost of entry to the series of six races will be Euro 25.00 and online entry will be available on www.RunIreland.com from 12:00 noon on Wednesday the 4th of March 2009.

There are a limited number of series entries available and they will be strictly allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Series entries are only available online.

A specially designed souvenir t-shirt will be awarded to everyone who enters the series and completes at least five of the six races.

Galway Athletics Club Web Sites;

Athenry AC http://www.athenryac.com/

Craughwell AC http://www.craughwellac.com/

Galway City Harriers http://www.galwaycityharriers.com/

Loughrea AC http://www.athleticsloughrea.com/

Tuam AC http://www.tuamac.com/

john mannion

15 years 4 months ago

What is the story here?

Sold out 2 months in advance???

Block bookings afoot me thinks!

I can I sign up for the 2010 series or even the 2011 as well please if that is how early I have to have my name in for them!
very strange indeed!
john

Nothing strange - supply and demand at work.
No block bookings.
I suspect that next year, it will take less than 24 hours !

Séamus Coyne

15 years 4 months ago

Also bear in mind the huge upsurge in Fit4Life participants over the past 6-12 months. I know for a fact that many of our Fit4Life members target the 5K series as a means to dip their toes in racing at a more manageable distance and were well primed to enter on launch date this year...

Mick Rice

15 years 4 months ago

John,
It was clear to many of us that this series was going to be very popular again this year and we tried to make the entry process as even-handed and as transparent as possible. This is one of the main reasons we opted an independant online entry process where there was no advantage to any particular club or category of runners. All of the hosting clubs also agreed to post the same announcement on their web-sites a couple of days in advance saying when entries would open and that they might be taken up quickly.

There's a huge amount of work invested in the six clubs that host races in the series and if we allowed the numbers participating to get too large the danger is that the clubs would no longer be able to cope with the organisational burden and that the series itself would no longer be a viable proposition. The two main concerns here are the safety of the people taking part and making sure that the volunteers who actually organise the races are not completely overstretched. As I'm sure you know it tends to be the same people that organise the majority of races around the county each year and there's only so much that can be asked of volunteers.

Hopefully you can accept the assurances here that the whole entry process was above board, as that was certainly the case, and that for those who didn't get a series entry this year there are thankfully many other races to look forward to during the summer. With a bit of luck I hope to run a few of them myself,

Mick Rice.

What's too many people or what is overstretched? Just turn up and run them anyways, nobody can stop you from doing that, they will be the losers of your entry fee by being ''overstretched'', it's a whole lotta nonscense imo.

Dave,

RE: whole lotta nonscense imo

How many races have you organised in your time?

It is likely that the first race in the series will have 400
(four hundred) toeing the line in Newcastle that last Tuesday in
April.

I'm always on the lookout for people who are interested &
motivated in helping out at races.

Perhaps you might take up my challenge of coming out to Newcastle
that evening and seeing how races actually get organised instead
of making groundless & anonymous statements on-line?

As Delia Smith famously same before a Norwich City game a few
years back:

Let's Be Having Ye?

James Lundon (jameslundon @ yahoo . co . uk)

Newcastle, Norwich!!! Athenry and County Galway we're talking about here.
I just think it's as efficent to let 400 people start a race as it is 250 or 300, I don't see a few hundred people causing any great logistical problems. Most runners take care of themselves, they line up at the start, run the race, hang around for a cuppa tea and go home, they don't require much more organisation. As for too many people crossing the finish line together, ankle CHIPS for crying out loud.

jameslundon

15 years 4 months ago

Dave,

You aren't answering my question, my friend: are you going to take up my challenge or not?

P.S. There will be no entries allowed on the night and bandits will not be encouraged.

Mick Rice

15 years 4 months ago

David,
Overstretched is not being able to provide proper first aid cover to everone taking part. Overstretched is not being able to steward the route safely because the crowd is too large. Overstretched is not being able to produde a race result because the numbers crossing the line come too thick and fast to be able to manage. Overstretched is when the people who volunteer to give up their evenings to organise the series get so much hassle that they decide that they won't do it any more.

As for the entry fee, none of the clubs involved here get a cent from the series. The cost for entering covers costs and the surplus, if any goes to support under-age athletics at a county level. This series costs Euro 25.00 for six races and there's a souvenir shirt for anyone who does five or more races. It's not exactly a money-spinner for anyone.

Mick.

Vincent

15 years 4 months ago

"No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged: each race a drama, each race a challenge, each race stretching me in one way or another, and each race telling me more about myself and others."

This quote from George Sheehan resonates with race organisers too.

Some of the comments above bring to mind one guy I encountered in a previous series who ran all the races then complained on the last night that there were no XL T-shirts left, and what a shambles the series was, and there'd be trouble if he didn't get his L swapped for an XL. It showed me a tiny minority of runners have chips strapped on a lot higher than their ankles; that I wasn't qualified to give out the kind of advice that guy needed; and as my T-shirt size is medium I should avoid delivering the kind of response I felt appropriate.

Six well organised races for €25 is only possible with a massive volunteer effort and goodwill from organisers and participants alike. I venture it could sell out at double the price, but that's not the spirit in which this series was started. The objective of safe racing is shared between the participants and organisers and all should feel empowered to ask bandits not to show up or leave if they do.

To echo James' challenge, perhaps the enthusiastic few that really want to be there but missed out on the available entries would help out with race organisation. It's amazing what they'd learn. If they were smart about it they could even get the 5k in before the registered participants showed up, then help make the main event happen smoothly. The best of both worlds, surely?

David Reilly

15 years 4 months ago

To The Organisers,

Its great to see that the 5km Series is becoming so popular over the last few years!
Its well organised each year with results, photos etc(and a tee shirt if your the lucky one).

However i feel that the number of entries are very limited. I know from an insurance issue that its not posssible to allow
more than a certain number on our small roads.

I have one idea that might work.

The Race should be split into 2 Races on the night. Any runners that can complete the 5km distance in under 24 mins should be in Race 1. Any runner over the 24 mins should be in Race 2.
I would start Race 2 approx 10/15 mins after Race 1.

The advantage of running the 5km Series this way are:

1)Double the numbers are allowed to take part.
2)Its gives runners in Race 2 to be able to compete for places.(and not finishing in 250/300 position)
3)Increase in numbers taking part in Athletics.(which is Key)
4)Increase in elite/runners athletes taking part.( I know alot of the 16/17/18 minute runners didnt get entries)

I leave it with you the organisers to look into making this work and welcome your feedback and comments.

David Reilly

alanburke

15 years 4 months ago

Hi David,
Thanks for the feedback.

The format for the series will not change this year.

At the end of the series, the organisers meet up and discuss how to improve things.

If you feel you can improve things. you should help out with preparation and at the races this year.
[Just contact the race organisers - they need plenty of help].
You can then attend the post race meeting with an insight into the whole thing, and how you propose to improve it.

I should point out that you proposal was already mooted at one meeting, and was deemed too complicated to get right, without lots of help.
It goes against the idea of a race series that is simple to administer - which is one of the key objectives.

Alan

David Reilly

15 years 4 months ago

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the reply!

I can see that it would create extra admin etc and that it is very hard to get people to come out and help!

Maybe making sure that minimum 2 members from each club in the county attend and help out with the admin side of things on each race night?

Or

That the race wont be held in the town unless the local club can provide minimum 10/15 stewards.

Can you send me contact details for the organisers as i would love to help out!

Many thanks

David

alanburke

15 years 4 months ago

Hi David, and anybody else who wishes to help
Series co-ordinator is Mick Rice, [email protected].
All of the clubs that host a race would welcome any help at their races too.